Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 2023).

The Things They Say!

Hudson Music: Lance's "Bebop Spoken Here" is one of the heaviest and most influential jazz blogs in the UK.

Rupert Burley (Dynamic Agency): "BSH just goes from strength to strength".

'606' Club: "A toast to Lance Liddle of the terrific jazz blog 'Bebop Spoken Here'"

The Strictly Smokin' Big Band included Be Bop Spoken Here (sic) in their 5 Favourite Jazz Blogs.

Ann Braithwaite (Braithwaite & Katz Communications) You’re the BEST!

Holly Cooper, Mouthpiece Music: "Lance writes pull quotes like no one else!"

Postage

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Monday, August 16, 2021

Newcastle Jazz Festival Day Three (the middle sets): Not Now Charlie & the Abbie Finn Trio - August 15

Not Now Charlie: Jamie Toms (tenor sax); Pawel Jedrzejewski (guitar); Richard Campbell (keyboards); Liam Gaughan (bass guitar); Dave Mckeague (drums)

The home straight. The third of three days of varied, quality live jazz. Note 'live' jazz! Throughout the festival many of the musicians remarked upon the novelty of performing for, and in front of, people. Funny old world, eh? 

Jamie Toms and Liam Gaughan were just two of many faces working non-stop to help make the festival run without a hitch. If there was a hitch, it went unnoticed by the many punters who turned up to enjoy the music. For three quarters of an hour Jamie and Liam were able to forget about festival duties and take to the stage to enjoy themselves playing music. 

Tenor saxophonist Jamie fronts Not Now Charlie with six-string bassist Liam working in the engine room alongside powerhouse drummer Dave McKeague.  The five piece outfit played all original material from the band's pre-lockdown Nostalgia Revisited album and it was as if the guys had never been away. NNC ripped through the title track, Mythos and Hadath with its Middle Eastern vibe. Pianist Richard Campbell did the necessary, guitarist Pav Jedrzejewski did the business with a touch of Sco's angular blues feel for good measure, and, as a unit, we were listening to one tight, grooving band.                                                                                                            -----    
The Abbie Finn Trio: Abbie Finn (drums); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Paul Grainger (double bass) 

It's easy to lose count, who did what and when? Now, without checking, Mr Paul Grainger could well lay claim to have been the hardest working musician at the 2021 Newcastle Jazz Festival. Here he was again today, down for two sessions. Later Mr PG would be heard working on Sue Ferris' Gerry Mulligan set (see LL's review). In a more familiar role, Paul joined drummer Abbie Finn and tenor saxophonist Harry Keeble to play a selection of numbers from Abbie's recently released Northern Perspective album and a few modern jazz standards. 

Abbie's Walkabout has a familiar ring to it. If it bears a resemblance to a classic number from way back that's no bad thing. Until a tune springs to mind, consider it Abbie's! The trio remembered Chick Corea with a fine take on Windows, Harry tipped his metaphorical hat to Michael Brecker on Don Grolnick's Nothing Personal, and the tenor horn gave a measured reading of Mingus' Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. To round off their set, Abbie and the boys danced their way through Victor Feldman's Seven Steps to Heaven
 
Day three was well and truly under way. We were looking ahead to the festival headline appearance of Mr Jay Phelps. Russell

No comments :

Blog Archive